Feb. 25 State Board of Education Special Meeting Highlights
Postponed: ISD Board Training on Parental Rights Course/Rules
The SBOE postponed until April final approval of the legislatively required parental rights training course (and related rules) for ISD trustees (agenda).
The board did, however, vote to designate (subject to possible revision in April) that the training not be delivered via video(s), but instead via the text/slide based non-video TEALearn digital learning platform, with Microsoft Immersive Lead functionality.
The board discussed possible changes to be made in April to the posted draft version of the curriculum.
The current version of the implementing rule (subject to change in April) calls for trustees to initially take five hours of parental rights training, reduced to three hours annually thereafter.
A bipartisan minority coalition of SBOE members is expected, in April, to renew their push to require fewer hours in training on the topic for both new and experienced board members.
Approved: Teacher/Administrator Civics Training
The board approved the legislatively required civics training course that elementary (K-5) teachers and administrators will only have to take once (agenda).
TEA staff said Region 18 (Midland) Education Service Center (ESC) will “train the trainers” at each of the state’s ESCs, who in turn will deliver the course to elementary teachers and administrators within their ESC regions.
The training will be provided over two days or 12 hours and will begin this summer. School staff taking the training will receive a $600 stipend.
The TEA developed the training in partnership with the Civics Advisory Council, a nine-member council that reviewed content and provided feedback.
Approved: 4,200 Bluebonnet Instructional Materials Corrections
The board voted 9-6 to approve making the 4,200 TEA-submitted corrections in the state-published Bluebonnet Learning instructional materials in elementary math and reading language arts and in secondary math (agenda).
Although a good number of the errors were described as minor (such as word spacing and page numbering) many were considered to be more serious — such as the presence of illustrations for which the TEA had not obtained copyright permission to use and could land the state in lawsuit peril.
Concerns were expressed by some of the SBOE members that there were so many changes that needed to be made that it was impossible for the board to properly vet them to ensure the board meets its state-law-assigned task of approving only instructional materials that meet high quality and suitability standards.
The state of Texas, as Bluebonnet’s publisher, will bear the costs of making the corrections.
The Texas Tribune has more.
The board spent the bulk of its special-meeting day listening to testimony, and then discussing, draft recommendations by work groups assigned the task of recommending a revised K-12 Social Studies TEKS (agenda).
First reading for the new Social Studies TEKS is tentatively set for the board’s next meeting in April, with final (second) reading/adoption targeted for June. Classroom implementation is set for no earlier than SY 2030-31, according to this calendar.
The Dallas Morning News has more.
Continued: Social Studies TEKS Revisions Discussion